Upcoming Event: Women's Ice Hockey versus Sacred Heart University (Exhibition) on September 27, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Women's Ice Hockey
vs Sacred Heart University (Exhibition)
3:00 PM
Providence College Athletics
Saturday, January 5
Providence, R.I.
2:00 P.M.
Providence College
vs
University of Vermont
No. 7 Women's Hockey Opens 2019 Against Vermont
1/3/2019 3:37:00 PM | Women's Ice Hockey
The Friars will host the Catamounts on Saturday, Jan. 5 and Sunday, Jan. 6.
Puck Drop
The Friars open play in 2019 with a two-game series at home against Vermont. Games are set for Saturday, Jan. 5 at 2:00 p.m. and Sunday, Jan. 6 at 2:00 p.m.Â
Scouting the Friars
The Friars finished 2018 with a 15-3-0 overall record and a 9-2-0 mark in Hockey East. It marked the team's best start since the 1991-92 season. Providence went unbeaten from Oct. 28 to Nov. 30. During that span, the Friars were a perfect 9-0-0. The Friars went 1-1-0 against nationally ranked opponents, defeating then-No. 5 Boston College (4-2) and falling to then-No. 8 Northeastern (2-0).Â
In the final game of 2018, Providence topped Holy Cross by a score of 5-1 (Dec. 7). The Friars' top line was spectacular, as Christina Putigna (Grimsby, Ontario), Maureen Murphy (Buffalo, N.Y.) and Meaghan Rickard (Coventry, R.I.) all finished with three or more points. Putigna had a goal and two assists, Murphy had two goals and one assist and Rickard had a goal and a career-high three assists. The four points also marked a new career high. Madison Myers (Colchester, Vt.) made 17 saves in her 14th win of the season.Â
Murphy leads the charge offensively for the Friars with 31 points (17 goals, 14 assists). Christina Putigna is second. She's tallied eight goals, 10 assists and 18 points. Cassidy MacPherson (Oakville, Ontario) and Sara Hjalmarsson (Bankeryd, Sweden) are third on the team in points (13). MacPherson has seven goals and six assists while Hjalmarsson has the opposite. Avery Fransoo (North Battleford, Saskatchewan) is third on the team in assists, as she has nine this season.Â
Myers has made 16 starts in net. She holds a .949 save percentage (ranked fourth in the nation) and a 1.14 goals against average (ranked third in the nation). The netminder has made 336 total saves and has three shutouts.
National Polls
The Friars have been ranked in the top-10 nationally for five-consecutive polls. Providence is currently No. 7 in both the USCHO and USA Hockey polls. It is the highest the Friars have been ranked so far this season.
Last Time Vs. Vermont
Providence skated to a 2-0 shutout victory against Vermont earlier this season (Nov. 11). Maureen Murphy and Christina Putigna scored in the victory, while Madison Myers made 24 total saves. Avery Fransoo had a two-point game, assisting both goals.
Hot at Home
Providence is 7-1-0 at home. The Friars' lone loss at Schneider came against UConn on Dec. 1 (2-1).
Notching Awards in November
Murphy and Myers were named Player and Goaltender of the Month, respectively, by both Hockey East and the WHCA in November. It was the first national monthly award for either of them.Â
Murphy finished the month tied for a conference-lead in goals (eight). She registered at least one point in every game of November, scoring goals in five of eight games. Five of her strikes came as game winners, which lead the nation for the month. The sophomore forward added six assists during the month for 14 total points. Murphy had a nine-game point streak from Oct. 28-Nov. 30.Â
Myers went 8-0-0 and had one shutout during November. She had the best goals against average in Hockey East (1.25) and ranked second in save percentage (.944). She made 167 saves during the month and picked up one shutout. The senior netminder allowed one goal or fewer in six of the eight games during November.Â
Multi-Point Murphy
Maureen Murphy has recorded at least two points in 11 of 18 games so far for Providence. She's only been held off the score sheet in two of 18 games all season. She's currently fifth in the nation in points per game (1.72) and first in goals per game (0.94). She is also first in the nation in game-winning goals (seven) and short-handed goals (three).Â
Where the Friars Rank
Providence ranks tied for third in the nation in scoring defense (1.44), second in the nation in penalty kill (92.0%), tied for seventh in the nation in power play percentage (21.2%) and fourth in team winning percentage (.833).
Strength of Special TeamsÂ
Providence has some of the top special teams in the nation. The Friars are third in the nation in combined special teams. They convert on 21.2 percent of power plays (seventh in the nation) and kill off 92.0 percent of penalties (second in the nation).
Brick Wall Myers
Myers has been excellent for the Friars in net so far this season. In 16 games played, she's 14-2-0 and has three shutouts. She's in the top five nationally for goals against average, save percentage and winning percentage. Nov. 23 against Yale marked her 100th career game. She ranks third all-time at Providence in goaltender games played.Â
Myers has allowed one goal or less in 11 of 16 games played this season.
Putigna Point Watch
Putinga currently has 98 career points. The senior forward has scored 39 goals and tallied 59 assists during her four seasons. With two more points, Putigna would become the 27th Friar to reach the 100-point mark.
Meet the Staff
Matt Kelly was named the sixth head coach in Providence College women's ice hockey history on June 18, 2018. Most recently, he served as a Head Scout for USA Hockey and the Women's National Team. His primary responsibility was to oversee and maintain the player pools for the U-18 and U-22 squads, in addition to the Women's National Team. He recently captured a gold medal with the Women's National Team at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang. Prior to USA Hockey, Kelly served as an assistant women's ice hockey coachÂ
at Clarkson University. There, he helped the Golden Knights to the 2014 National Championship. He played at Wayne State and graduated in 2007.Â
Kelly hired Jake Anderson, Ali Domenico and Doug Ferry to round out his staff. Anderson previously coached at Merrimack, RPI and Holy Cross. He graduated from American International College in 2011, where he was a goaltender. Domenico, a 2009 St. Lawrence graduate, coached at Syracuse prior to arriving at Providence. Ferry remains with the program as the Director of Hockey Operations after serving as a student manager and then the program's graduate assistant for the past two seasons.
Fresh Friar Faces
Providence welcomes four new players to the roster for 2018-19. Annelise Rice (Excelsior, Minn.) joins the program as a sophomore transfer. She played 25 games at North Dakota (2016-17) and registered two points on one goal and one assist. Freshmen Ciara Barone (North Tonawanda, N.Y.), Sara Hjalmarsson (Bakeryd, Sweden) and Caroline Peterson (East Falmouth, Mass.) round out the new additions. Barone attended the Nichols School, while Peterson attended Saint Mark's School. Hjalmarsson went to school and played in Sweden, most notably for the national team in the 2018 Olympic Games in PeyongChang.
Murphy with USA Hockey
During the off-season, Murphy had several chances to compete for USA Hockey. In August, she competed for the USA U-22 Women's Select Team in a three-game series against Canada. She recorded two goals in three games. In September, Murphy was invited to U.S. Women's National Team Evaluation Camp. From Sept. 13-17 she participated in practices and scrimmages with the top players in the country, including 17 players that won gold at the recent Olympics.Â
Most recently, she was invited to participate in USA Hockey's Winter Training Camp. She is one of 44 players that will participate in the camp from Dec. 17 to 21 in Michigan.
Hjalmarsson at Four Nations
Freshman Sara Hjalmarsson missed the Friars' Nov. 9 and Nov. 11 games to represent Sweden at the Four Nations Cup in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Sweden dropped its games against Canada (6-1), Finland (3-2) and the United States (5-1).
Hockey East Preseason Poll
The Friars were picked to finish fourth in the Hockey East Preseason poll, which was released on Sept. 20. Providence received 54 points and was picked to finish behind Boston College (81), Northeastern (73) and Maine (59). Rounding out the poll were Boston University (44), UConn (43), New Hampshire (41), Vermont (25), Merrimack (21), and first-year member Holy Cross (9).
Scouting the Catmounts
Vermont wrapped up the first semester at 5-10-4 overall and 3-7-2 in league play. The Catamounts currently sit in ninth in Hockey East. Vermont scores 1.79 goals per game, while giving up 2.53. The team is 10.8% on the power play and 89.6 on the penalty kill. The Catamounts' penalty kill is ranked eighth in the nation.
Who to Watch
Junior Eve-Audrey Picard leads the Catamounts with 15 points on six goals and nine assists. She's the only player in double-digit scoring for Vermont. Freshman Theresa Schafzahl and sophomore Kristina Shanahan each have eight points. Schafzahl has four goals and four assists, while Shanahan has two goals and six assists. In net, senior Melissa Black has played 14 games. She holds a .914 save percentage and a 2.38 goals against average. She's 3-8-3 with one shutout.
All-Time Series with the Catamounts
Providence leads the all-time series with a record of 33-15-4. That includes a 21-8-1 mark at home. The Friars lead the season series, 1-0-0 after defeating the Catamounts 2-0 back in November.
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